What does this mean?

jcup · Sep 15, 2013

Hello, I was on pcpartpicker.com seeing what the build I wanted would balance out to and I got this note at the bottom.
"G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum."
Does this mean the RAM won't work with my build? Or will it perform badly?
Here is a link to the ram I am getting on Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

Deus Gladiorum · Sep 15, 2013

jcup :

Gotta love PCPartpicker. When selecting RAM, your goal is for it to run at stock 1.5 Volts. This is the preferred range where RAM lasts a long time and wont fry your stuff. If you can find RAM with low latency timings, high frequency, and it runs at 1.5 V, it's a good piece of RAM. RAM that runs at 1.65V means that it failed to run properly at 1.5 V and the manufacturer had to increase voltage just to get it to run. This is bad because it means your RAM will probably not last a while. Additionally, I looked up the RAM you selected. DON'T get it. In addition to overly high voltage, the latency timings are terrible.

In selecting RAM, you want low latency timings and high clock speeds. One without the other just defeats the purpose of getting anything over DDR3-1600/9-9-9-24. There's a bit of a lengthy explanation to all this, but in short the first number represented, also known as the CAS latency, is the number of cycles RAM requires to access an array. So a RAM stick with a CAS latency of 13 means that it takes 13 cycles (i.e. frequencies or Hertz (Hz)) to access a piece of information. Other latency timings also relate to the speed at which RAM can perform a certain task, but basically if you have RAM at 2400 MHz, having it take 13 cycles to access an array among all its other operations, AND it's running at 1.65 V, it's not a good buy unless it's dirt cheap (i.e. $30).

If you want RAM with a great price, excellent frequency, and FANTASTIC timings, get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

UPDATE: WOOPS! In my rush in reading your post I saw the DDR3-2400 but didn't see the link, which doesn't link to a DDR3-2400 RAM kit but rather a DDR3-1866 with much different values. That doesn't make much sense. The RAM kit you linked to runs at 1.5V and has good latency timings and a high frequency, so I'm not quite sure I understand why PC Partpicker did that. Still, my explanation still stands. Sorry about that. The RAM you linked to is fine, but whatever PC Partpicker thinks you have isn't. Make sure you haven't accidentally selected 2 RAM kits.

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What does this mean?

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